Best Practices for Workstation Organization

Ergonomists have suggested that everyone work within a so-called “comfort zone”. This is a semi-circle that your arms make as you reach out. Things that you use on a regular basis should ideally be within easy reach with your full arm. Things that you use frequently and repetitively should be within easy reach of your forearms.

Much of the time, problems with reach are simply matters of rearranging your work area and moving things closer to you. Often it is a matter of habit — you are unaware that you continually reach for something that could be easily moved closer. Or sometimes, the work surface is just too big, causing you to reach across to get something. One option is just to get a smaller surface. Another option is to make a cutout in the worksurface to allow the body to be closer to the work— this way your reaches are cut, but you still have plenty of surrounding space for items.

The parameters of the “comfort zone” are well defined dimensions that take into consideration body size, range of movement, muscle strength, clearances and reach/vision envelopes (see illustration below).

In laboratory environments, many workstations have pipettes stored at the back of the bench. As a result, the user is frequently reaching to the back of the bench to change pipettes, causing over extension by the arm. An alternative to this practice is to continuously hold the pipette even while performing other functions. However, this constant holding of the pipette increases contact stress and prevents the muscles from relaxing, thereby creating increased tension, stress and muscle fatigue. It has also been observed that in some cases the pipette is placed on the bench between uses, which could cause contamination to it, the work environment or the user.

Pipette users are encouraged to move their entire rack of pipettes within the parameters of the comfort zone to avoid excessive reaching and arm extension. Pipettes should be returned to the rack when other sample preparation tasks are being performed to allow hand and arm muscles to recover. As much as possible, workflow should be organized to allow alternating use of the pipette and other sample preparation steps.

The Ovation Solution

The Ovation BioNatural Pipette was specifically designed to compliment work within the “comfort zone”.

Ovation is the only pipette that stands securely on the counter before, during and after pipetting tasks. The tip never touches the bench, so there’s no risk of contamination.

Ovation’s non-axial design allows work to be performed close to the work surface without raising the arm, hand or wrist.

COVID-19 Update

VistaLab continues full operations as an essential business entity. While we have instituted a “work from home” policy for non-essential personnel, we continue to assemble, test, and calibrate our high-quality liquid handling products at our facility. We continue to ship pipettes and all consumables – pipette tips, reagent reservoirs and Wobble-not serological pipets – without delay. The vast majority of VistaLab products are and continue to be Made in the USA.

The safety and health of our employees and our customers is of paramount importance to us. We are strictly following guidance from both OSHA and the CDC for Workplace Health and Safety.

As this unprecedented situation evolves, we will post updates as necessary. If you need to contact us, please feel free https://vistalab.com/contact

Be well and stay safe!

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More